Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom perfectly responded to Texas Republicans passing the gerrymander Donald J. Trump requested, with the new map helping Republicans flip as many as five seats. Newsom signed legislation to create new congressional districts in California as a direct countermove to Republicans in Texas. And now, California Republicans are worried that Newsom’s move would be a “guillotine” for their party in that state, as it will reduce what little power they have.
Politico reports:
Republicans wield almost no power in California. But as a moribund state party gathered here over the weekend, it confronted an even grimmer reality now suddenly settling in: If the state gerrymanders its congressional map, they’ll practically be an endangered species.
“It’s a guillotine,” said Dale Quasny, a party delegate and real-estate broker from suburban Los Angeles County. “We won’t be able to pick up the pieces and move forward. I mean, we were making a little headway, but this would be a catastrophe.”
Long locked out of power in Sacramento, one thing that Republicans here and nationally have counted on for years from California was influence in U.S. House races — and the ability to help deliver Republican majorities by winning battleground races in the state’s Central Valley and Orange County.
